College officials refused to confirm the level of job cuts ahead of the meeting, although unions warned up to 50 jobs were on the line.

Nick Varney, West Midlands regional official for the University and College Union, told the Telegraph he believed the axe would fall more heavily on lecturing jobs.

He has now warned that staff will be balloted on the possibility of taking industrial action if compulsory redundancies are on the cards.

He said: “Our members have already said that should there be the possibility of compulsory redundancies, we should ballot for industrial action.

“We do however believe action can be avoided if we work together to reach a solution.”

Unions will begin consultations with management at the college from today.

Mr Taylor says his management team are examining courses in “scientific” detail to establish where cuts can be made.

He said: “I can confirm that, due to the £1 million budget cut, we shall be making cuts which is the equivalent to about 50 jobs. At this stage, we are unable to say exactly which areas of the college are going to be most hit.”

But he was keen to reassure 16 to 18-year-old students that their courses are safe from September.